The present invention concerns an apparatus for continuous tempering of cacao-butter-containing or other fat-containing, chocolate-like mass flowing therethrough, wherein a predetermined, controlled cooling or heating stage of the mass is provided in a cooling zone with a plurality of cooling surfaces, and a subsequent heating zone with a plurality of heating surfaces for the mass during its passage through at least two sections of mass treatment chambers in succession with associated cooling or heating medium chambers.
The medium chambers remove heat energy from or add heat energy to the cooling surfaces or the heating surfaces, respectively, by means of a medium, which is controlled to a predetermined temperature and/or a predetermined flow through the medium chambers.
During the flow of mass and its passage through the sections, exchange of heat energy via the cooling surfaces and the heating surfaces, respectively, is conducted, and heat transmission between the medium in a medium chamber and the mass in an adjacent mass treatment chamber is thereby performed.
By the known types of tempering apparatuses, the heat is free to transmit between the particular adjacent sections of mass treatment chambers and the associated cooling or heat medium chambers, with the result that there is a substantial, uncontrolled transmission of heat transmission. It has been difficult to control a tempering process inside a specific section, without considering the influence of the heat transmission between the section in question and the adjacent sections.
Particularly this could be because the heat energy freely flows between a section performing a cooling stage of the mass and an adjacent section performing a heating stage of the mass. This is due to the fact, that the section with the heating stage of the mass has a surplus of heat energy, in comparison to the section with the cooling stage.
A predetermined tempering process in each of the two sections is therefore impossible to control exactly.
Particularly for the crystal formation section of tempering apparatuses it is important to determine and exactly control a predetermined tempering process of the mass, so a high quality of the finally tempered mass is achieved. By the known types of tempering apparatuses it has proven difficult to control the tempering process in the crystal formation section exactly, as the heat flows freely from the medium or the mass chamber of the adjacent sections to the crystal formation section and thereby influences the tempering process in said section.